The energy dependence of the proton-proton total cross-section for centre-of-mass energies between 23 and 53 GeV

Measurements of proton-proton elastic scattering at angles around 6 mrad have been made at centre-of-mass energies of 23, 31, 45 and 53 Ge V using the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings. The absolute scale of the cross-section was established by determination of the effective density of the colliding beams in their overlap region. Proton-proton total cross sections were deduced by extrapolation of the elastic differential cross-section to the forward direction and by application of the optical theorem. The results indicate that over the energy range studied the proton-proton total cross-section increases from about 39 to about 43 mb. (12 refs).